| One of the most fascinating aspects of evolution, biological and social, is the idea that the same phenomena can arise independently all over the world at around the same time, without knowledge of one another. A sort of global consciousness, if you will. Dissenters insist that this is false, that a single great idea can be spread by the trade winds, and one profitable adaptation can populate the world. Either theory may be true, though I suspect something more like a combination and dialogue, too complicated to really unravel, so theorists prefer to just pick sides. |
I don't know enough about biology to speak well on that side of things. But this sort of thing pops up in all sorts of places where you wouldn't expect it. Take two of the most loved and hated instruments (I love them), the bagpipes and the accordion. Most people associate them with Scottish and German music. But if you dig a little deeper, you'll find them literally all over the world. We can trace the bagpipes southward through Europe and discover that, weirdly enough, there's Scottish sounding music from bagpipes in France and Italy. Check out this incredible pipe music on the "launeddas" from Sardinia:
http://www.triplepip...
The launeddas are essentially bagpipes where the bag part is the mouth itself. The same idea is what drives the Chinese Sheng and the Thai Khene. The main difference with these instruments is that they have a reed pipe for each note, instead of using just a few pipes with 5 or 6 finger holes on them. The pipes themselves are the same concept though, amplified wooden reeds. Now if we keep the Sheng's reeds, but amplify them with one main body instead of individual pipes, we end up with….. a harmonica - which is basically a small accordion. Differences for sure, but you can follow the chain.
The accordion reaches all around the world, but in a more recent way. It shows up in German polka, of course, and its bizarre cousin Mexican polka. But also the Argentine tango (as the bandoneon), English hymns and Indian classical music (as the harmonium), and in Africa (there's some absolutely jaw dropping accordion playing in Madagascar, of all places), and other examples (the Russian livenka and garmon).
These accordion-ish instruments are clearly adaptation of an original instrument. But what about the bagpipes? It seems more like a good idea, something that many cultures hit upon at the same time.
I've been thinking about honey, which every culture seems to have its own history with. M.F.K. Fisher talks about delicious sounding honey and oat cakes eaten by ancient Egyptians and Romans. The Chinese had honey too, but didn't care so much because they had cane sugar. Bees exist independently of humans, sure, but did one person discover the idea of apiculture and spread the idea, or was it a natural development of our desire for sweetness, everywhere and all at once?
Two unrelated points about honey: it keeps forever in a sealed container. Why? I haven't been able to figure it out. In Buenos Aires there are honey stores that sell all kinds of medicinal products made from honey. One of these, which I had to try, was wasp honey. It tastes metallic. It's very rare, because sometimes wasps pollinate Datura flowers, and so people who eat their honey go insane. So far so good. |
